Health Network Hosts Annual Meeting

September 30, 2009

Dr. David Dixon with Doug Walrath, FCHN board chair.

Dr. David Dixon was recently presented the annual Franklin Community Health Leadership Award at the annual meeting for Franklin Community Health Network (FCHN) for “his service as a visionary physician, outstanding citizen serving his community, and caring human being who never lost the human sensitivity that was instilled upon him during his youth.”

“Choosing the person to receive this year’s Community Health Leadership Award was not difficult; the first person mentioned was our unanimous choice,” said Doug Walrath, FCHN board chair, in making the announcement. “Dr. Dixon’s service to our community reaches back to the early 1970s when he finished a surgical residency at Maine Medical Center and came here to work with Dr. Paul Brinkman. From the start, he had a vision of a health care system that would serve the community, combining the best clinical medicine with the best preventive medicine in a network that would make health care available to everyone. Dr. Dixon inspired a generation of physicians to come here and share his vision. What we have today in Franklin Community Health Network was built on the foundation that he laid 40 years ago.”

Franklin Community Health Network is an independent community health care network that includes Franklin Memorial Hospital, Franklin Health, Evergreen Behavioral Services, NorthStar, and the Healthy Community Coalition. During the annual meeting, corporators representing towns in the health system’s service area, come together to hear presentations on the year’s accomplishments, approve nominations of board members, and receive an annual report. The presentation of the Franklin Community Health Leadership Award has become a highlight of the meeting.

Also honored was Richard Batt, who was presented with a lifetime achievement award for his vision, leadership, and dedication during 15 years at the helm of Franklin Community Health Network. He retired as president and CEO at the end of 2008.

In his report to the corporators, Walrath said, “In Rebecca Ryder we found a new CEO who is providing exceptional leadership. She is proving herself to be an excellent administrator who combines superb human relations skills with a very sharp pencil. She hit the ground running in January and we are all challenged to keep up with her.”

According to Ryder, highlights of the network’s numerous successes over the past year included: a major focus on initiatives addressing patient safety; a partnership with Tufts University School of Medicine and Maine Medical Center to make Franklin Memorial Hospital a teaching site for medical students; new physicians, including a dermatologist; and improvements in information technology for patient care, including the eICU.

The year’s highlights are featured in the network’s 2008/2009 annual report. To receive an annual report of Franklin Community Health Network, contact the Community Relations office at 779-2555 or 1-800-398-6031, ext. 2555.